I know its not full proof, but I do my best to live in palces where crime, especially violent, is practically non-existent. And in most parts it is, if you steer clear of certain activities and areas and people. (like hanging out with that crazy cousinn who's always sleeping with married women and bragging down at the saloon about it)

There's also the part of me that feels uneasy and distrustful. When my wife tosses a bowl of cereal in my direction, it does limited damage. Women can get crazy.

No doubt I'd have something, probably a revolver, if my living circumstances were different. For now, I exrcise avoidance techniques and "if it's my time" mentality.

I live in a building with 24-hour security staff in a good neighbourhood in a low-homicide nation.

While I think the merits are often inflated for a litany of political/psychological reasons, if I lived in a more dangerous part of the world I'd own a firearm and maintain the skills necessary to use it. At present an even cursory risk assessment does not demonstrate a positive ROI.

Currently I live in a rural area. The township I live in has no police force, so we rely on the State Police. That means the average response time isn't great.

I used to live in a small-medium sized city. There the police are never far away, but response times can vary widely depending on whether or not the police are tied up on other calls (there are only about a half dozen officers on duty at any time).

I also do a lot of hiking, which could put me a long way from help if trouble should arise. In this instance I'm much more concerned with stray dogs and rednecks than I am with bears or snakes.

PS) I've never understood the logic of carrying firearm for protection against snakes in the outdoors. If I can see a snake, I can easily avoid it and wouldn't need to kill it. If I don't see it, then a gun isn't going to do me any good.

Just genuinely curious as to why someone would need so many guns. Do you live in a high crime area? Are attacks on people's homes a common occurrence where you live? My home has never been attacked, not when I grew up in the countryside nor when I lived in the city. The same goes for my family, my girlfriends family and all my friends. If I were to ask my family and friends if they would like multiple firearms to protect themselves as you have they'd probably say - 'Protect us from what exactly?'. What threat do you perceive could happen for you to need so many guns?

If I lived where Matt does, I would have a decent security system, 1 semi-auto rifle of some sort, 1 12 gauge pump action shotgun, and a couple handguns. The two handguns would be so I could see whether I prefer a semi-auto pistol, or a revolver. I would try a 9mm with higher capacity clips, and then a higher caliber revolver.

If I lived in a bad neighborhood I would carry a small revolver. I might get one of those little short range tasers too, the ones where you don't have leads, it just has a 3 inch arc on it, so it's more melee. I would get brass knuckles for melee too. I am pretty strong, so if I hit somebody with brass knuckles, they're not likely to get up again. basically you need range and melee for that.

For most home defense I probably would lean towards a shotgun. Mainly because you can put some deer slugs in it, and then if you blow a big hole through your door, nobody is going to try to come through it. Plus if they are standing in front of it, it's all over.

As it is I really don't feel the need to have one. I just don't live anywhere where I would have any need for it.

I think maybe life experience makes a difference here. For someone who's unfamiliar with firearms and lives in a place where gun ownership is uncommon, the idea of owning one or more firearms for self defense might seem strange. In fact, he/she might feel pretty uncomfortable with guns in general. However, for someone who is familiar with firearms, who learned how to shoot at a young age, and knows how to handle a firearm safely it may make a lot of sense. Perhaps that's why people who hunt and/or target shoot are more likely to own firearms for self defense.

Matt Z wrote:If you actually read my posts, I said I have two firearms for self defense (both handguns), one for concealed carry and one for home. The rifles are intended mainly for recreational target shooting.

I read your post, you have handguns for self defence but - I also have several rifles that could work well for home defense if I ever feel the need for more firepower or greater range.

I mulled over this question from you today -

Are you being sarcastic or are you really THAT sheltered that you can't imagine someone trying to harm you?

I don't see what me living a supposed sheltered life has to do with what i can imagine. I can imagine numerous ways in which someone is trying to harm me, but the question surely is what is the likelihood of what i can imagine actually happening? Sure i can imagine an armed gang breaking into my house and killing me and my girlfriend but on the flip side i can also imagine myself winning the lottery tomorrow evening. I'm not though going to book a round the world holiday for me and the missus because i can imagine us winning the lottery, that would be absurd. Likewise i'm not going to start arming my house because i can imagine an armed gang storming it. The odds of having my home attacked or winning the lottery are beyond remote, i would wager i am statistically more likely to be killed using a domestic appliance. I don't concern myself with that scenario either.

As for my 'sheltered' life, i've backpacked around Morocco twice, once down the east coast of India and South East Asia three times taking in Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia as well as visiting a handful of European countries. Maybe you'd call that a sheltered life, i don't know, but in all my travels not once as anyone ever tried to harm me. One pick-pocketed wallet, but that's it.